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American  colo  vn ) za'Hori  socie.iy, 


Xviforw\cct iovo  abou+  j^omc^  Liberia 


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INFORMATION  ABOUT  GOING  TO  LIBERIA. 


We  are  constantly  receiving  letters  in  which  the  following  ques- 
tions are,  in  substance,  asked.  We  have  therefore  condensed  the 
facts  into  the  following  form  : 

Question  i.  At  what  season  of  the  year  is  it  best  to  embark  for 
Liberia  ? 

Answer  i.  The  first  day  of  May  and  the  first  day  of  November  are 
the  times  that  vessels  usually  leave  this  country  for  Liberia.  There 
is  very  little,  if  any,  choice  between  these  two  seasons  of  the  year  as 
a time  to  arrive  in  that  Republic. 

Q.  2.  How  long  is  the  voyage,  and  is  there  much  danger  that  we 
shall  be  lost  on  the  way  ? 

A.  2.  The  length  of  the  voyage  is  from  thirty  to  forty  days.  The 
American  Colonization  Society  has  been  sending  for  upwards  of  fifty 
years  and  has  never  lost  a vessel  with  emigrants  on  board  ! 

Q.  3.  What  ought  we  to  take  with  us,  both  for  use  on  the  voyage 
and  after  we  get  there  ? 

A.  3.  Every  emigrant  ought  to  be  well  supplied  with  clothing,  both 
for  summer  and  winter,  similar  to  that  which  he  wears  in  this  country. 
There  is  no  winter  in  Liberia,  but  during  the  rainy  season,  health  is 
preserved  and  promoted  by  wearing  flannel,  or  warm  clothing.  He 
ought  also  to  have  a good  mattress  and  bed-clothes,  which  he  will 
need  to  use  on  shipboard  and  after  landing.  If  he  is  a mechanic,  he 
ought  to  have  the  tools  of  his  trade.  If  he  is  a farmer,  he  ought  to 
be  well  supplied  with  axes,  hoes,  spades,  saws,  augers,  &c.  And,  as 
every  family  is  expected  to  keep  house  and  live  by  themselves,  they 
ought  to  have  a good  supply  of  table  furniture  and  cooking  utensils. 
It  is  not  possible  to  take  chairs,  tables,  bedsteads,  and  other  large  arti- 
cles of  furniture  with  them,  as  they  occupy  too  much  room  in  the 
ship.  But  whatever  is  convenient  and  necessary  in  housekeeping  and 
of  small  compass,  they  ought  to  take.  A keg  of  nails,  a bale  or  two 
of  domestics,  and  some  greenbacks,  or  specie  or  gold  coin,  would  be 


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of  use  to  them  in  erecting  their  houses,  and  paying  for  any  labor  they 
might  need,  during  the  first  few  months  of  their  residence  in  Liberia. 

O.  4.  How  much  land  is  given  to  each  emigrant  ? 

A.  4.  By  the  laws  of  Liberia,  each  emigrant  on  his  arrival  is  given 
a town  lot,  or  ten  acres  of  land.  If  he  is  the  head  of  a family,  the 
quantity  of  land  is  increased  according  to  the  number  of  his  family,  not 
exceeding  twenty-five  acres.  This  allowance  may  seem  small,  but  it  is 
abundantly  sufficient  for  all  his  necessities  until  he  is  able  to  buy  more 
for  himself.  Twenty-five  acres  of  land  there  will  produce  as  much 
as  one  hundred  acres  almost  anywhere  in  the  Unitpd  States. 

Q.  5.  Can  I educate  mv  children  there,  and  what  will  it  cost? 

A.  5.  By  a law  of  Liberia,  all  parents  are  required  to  send  their 
children  to  school.  In  some  of  the  settlements’ the  schools  are  good. 
A college,  the  materials  and  building  of  which  cost  $20,000,  is  in 
operation  at  Monrovia.  All  the  Professors  are  colored  men.  The 
natives  are  at  peace  with  the  Liberians,  and  are  generally  anxious  to 
have  their  children  educated. 

0.  6.  What  assistance  will  the  Colonization  Society  render  me  in 
getting  to  Liberia  ? 0 • 

A.  6.  So  numerous  have  the  applications  become,  that  the  Society 
will  hereafter  give  the  preference,  all  other  things  being  equal,  to 
those  who  will  pay  a part  or  the  whole  of  the  cost  of  their  passage  to 
and  settlement  in  Liberia. 

0.  7.  How  can  I make  a living  in  Liberia  ? 

A.  7.  In  the  same  way  that  you  would  make  one  anywhere  else  ; 
that  is,  by  industry  and  economy.  During  the  first  six  months  after 
arrival  in  Liberia  you  become  acclimated,  and  can  open  and  plant 
your  land,  build  a house  on  it,  raise  a crop,  and  have  everything  in 
readiness  to  live  comfortably  thereafter.  Those  competent  to  teach 
school  and  good  accountants  command  from  three  to  eight  hundred 
dollars  a year.  Blacksmiths,  carpenters,  masons,  brickmakers,  cabinet- 
makers, shipwrights,  &c.,  &c.,  can  always  find  employment  at  good 
wages.  The  farmer  need  fear  no  want.  This  question  has  been 
answered  by  the  editor  of  the  Liberia  Herald,  who  has  lived  there  for 
many  years,  and  we  cannot  do  better  than  quote  his  words,  viz: 

“We  give  a list  of  such  meats,  poultry,  birds,  fruits,  fish,  and 
edibles  as  are  in  general  use  with  us  in  their  appropriate  season. 

“Animals  and  Fowls.  — Domesticated — Cows,  bullocks,  swine, 
sheep,  goats,  ducks,  fowls,  turkeys.  Wild — Deer  in  abundance ; 
partridges,  pigeons,  goats,  doves,  squirrels,  ducks,  rice  birds. 


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“Fruits. — Watermelon,  muskmelon,  mango  plum,  orange,  rose 
apple,  sour  sop,  guava,  tamarind,  plantain,  bananas,  grammadilla, 
limes,  lemons. 

“ Fish.— Mullett,  whiting,  perch,  bream,  pike,  baracouta,  mack 
erel,  herring,  carp,  sun,  drum,  catfish,  grippers,  oysters,  crabs 

“ Edibles. — Sweet  potatoes,  arrowroot,  turnips,  carrots,  shilote, 
cvmling,  chiota,  pawpaw,  lima  beans,  ochra,  peas,  radishes,  beets, 
cabbages,  snaps,  cucumbers,  greens,  salads,  cassavas,  yams,  corn.” 

The  Rev.  A.  F Russell,  of  Clay-Ashland,  Liberia,  another  citizen 
who  has  been  there  for  years,  writes  on  the  same  subject  thus,  (in 
speaking  of  what  should  be  said  to  persons  in  the  United  States  who 
think  of  going  to  Liberia,)  viz : 

“If  they  be  farmers,  point  them  to  the  soil,  the  fertility  of  which 
cannot  be  exaggerated,  producing  everything  a tropical  clime  can  pro- 
duce in  ample  abundance  ; the  arm  answering,  though  not  necessarily 
in  all  cases,  the  place  of  the  ox;  the  hoe  answering  lor  the  plow,  if 
we  prefer,  and  in  our  light  soil  does  almost  as  well  perhaps.  Labor 
and  patience,  two  thirds  of  the  labor,  too,  that  it  would  take  to  sup- 
port a man  in  the  United  States,  will  reward  the  workman  thirty, 
sixty,  a hundred  fold — the  profits  will  sweeten  the  toil  A coffee 
tree  once  planted  and  reared  (which  takes  four  years)  will  yield  its 
increase,  two  crops  a year,  year  after  year,  bringing  its  reward  with 
it — -a  hundred,  a thousand,  and  tens  of  thousands  will  do  the  same, 
and  certainly  the  scions  or  the  seed  are  to  be  bought  in  sufficient  quan- 
tities in  Liberia.  Arrowroot,  ginger,  pinders,  and  pepper  grow  with 
almost  half  trouble,  yielding  in  full  abundance  ; and  as  for  fruits,  the 
orange,  lime,  lemon,  sour  sop,  guava,  mango,  &c.,  we  will  place  Liberia 
against  any  country  in  the  world,  and  with  a fraction  of  labor,  com- 
pared with  the  benefits  they  yield.  Vegetables — the  yam,  potatoes, 
cassava,  plantains,  Indian  corn,  beans,  peas,  &c. — time  would  fail  us 
to  tell.  Put  them  in  the  earth,  and  they  are  as  sure  to  produce  as 
the  God  of  nature  is  to  bring  about  the  seasons.” 

O.  8.  Can  I be  as  healthy  in  Liberia  as  I am  in  the  United  States? 

A.  8.  Some  constitutions  may  be  more  healthy  there  than  here. 
For  old  settlers  Liberia  is  doubtless  more  healthy  than  many  parts  of 
the  United  States  The  deaths  there  among  such  for  several  years 
past  have  not  been  more  than  three  per  cent. 

We  make  this  general  remark  in  connection  with  the  last  two  ques- 


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tions.  The  great  advantage  which  the  colored  man  gets  by  going  to 
Liberia  is  not  as  to  his  eating  or  drinking  or  making  money,  but  in  his 
social  and  moral  condition.  He  becomes  a man.  He  is  no  longer 
despised  as  of  another  race,  but  is  treated  as  an  equal  and  as  a brother, 
and  secures  immense  advantages  for  his  children.  Those  who  can 
and  do  appreciate  these,  and  go  to  Liberia,  will  never  regret  it.  Of 
such  emigrants  Mr.  Russell,  whose  language  we  have  before  quoted, 
makes  the  following  remarks: 

“ They  not  only  see  that  every  improvement  belongs  to  themselves 
and  children,  but  good  sound  sense  and  industry  tells  them  to  go  for- 
ward, and  they  obey,  looking  upon  Liberia  as  theirs  and  the  home  of 
their  children  ; its  strength  their  safety,  its  wealth  their  property,  and 
its  prosperity  their  glory  and  the  salvation  from  degradation  of  their 
children.  As  the  hope  of  Liberia’s  glory,  present  as  well  as  fu- 
ture, rises  before  such  men,  it  beckons  them  onward.  They  enjoy 
‘ freedom  ’ in  every  true  sense  of  that  word.  They  love  our  laws 
because  they  are  wholesome  ; they  are  ours,  made  by  legislators  of 
our  choice.  They  love  liberty  for  what  it  is  in  and  of  itself.” 

We  are  expecting  to  send  a large  number  of  the  more  enterpris- 
ing and  educated  class.  The  independent  position  of  Liberia  ren- 
ders this  very  desirable.  Her  citizens  have  the  entire  responsibility 
of  their  government,  and  need  all  the  talent,  wisdom,  and  energy 
they  can  summon  to  their  aid.  We  think  that  the  intelligent  and 
wealthy  colored  people  of  the  United  States  would  have  some  ambi- 
tion to  share  in  the  splendid  results  to  be  achieved  through  the  agency 
of  Liberia.  Surely,  to  aid  in  laying  the  foundation  for  a nation,  in 
maturing  institutions  and  laws  for  the  government  of  a great  people, 
and  in  redeeming  an  immense  continent  from  pagan  darkness  and 
barbarity,  is  a work  infinitely  more  sublime  and  glorious  than  can 
possibly  be  performed  by  any  of  the  colored  people  in  this  country, 
however  favored  may  be  their  position,  enlarged  their  opportunities, 
and  determined  their  energy  and  perseverance.  When  the  historian 
writes  up  the  labors  of  their  race,  who  will  stand  far  above  all  com- 
parison, if  not  the  bold  and  prosperous  pioneers  in  the  only  success- 
ful effort  ever  made  for  their  social,  civil,  and  religious  redemption? 


Published  by  the  American  Colonization  Society. 


■H, 


